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The Latest: US indicts former Cuban President Raúl Castro over 1996 downing of planes.Federal prosecutors on Wednesday charged former Cuban President Raúl Castro with ordering the 1996 shootdown of civilian planes operated by Miami-based exiles, a major escalation of pressure by the Trump administration on the socialist government.President Donald Trump has set a calamitous energy blockade on the island and has been threatening military action ever since U.S.forces captured the Cuban government’s longtime patron, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.Two police officers who helped defend the U.S.Capitol from an attack by a mob of President Donald Trump's supporters sued Wednesday to block anyone — including Jan.6, 2021, rioters — from receiving payouts from a new nearly $1.8 billion settlement fund for people who claim to be victims of politically motivated prosecutions.The lawsuit’s filing comes a day after Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, during his congressional testimony, wouldn’t rule out the possibility of fund payouts for rioters who assaulted police on Jan.Also, Trumpscored another win Tuesday against a Republican rival, dislodging Rep.Thomas Massie in Kentucky’s primary and knocking out one of his most outspoken critics on Capitol Hill.Massie has been a particularly difficult thorn in Trump’s side, pushing for the release of the Epstein files, opposing the war with Iran and voting against Trump’s signature tax legislation last year.government will permanently drop tax claims against Trump, according to a settlement document made public Tuesday, in an extraordinary use of executive power that could effectively help shield the president from further examination of his finances and legal conduct.As part of the settlement deal, the U.S.is “forever barred and precluded” from examining or prosecuting Trump, his sons and the Trump organization’s current tax examinations.Here's the latest: Trump calls the indictment of Raúl Castro ‘a very big moment’ “I think this is a very big day, very important day,” Trump told reporters on the tarmac, after flying back from Connecticut.Asked what will happen next for Cuba, he said “We’re gonna see” and that the U.S.is ready to provide humanitarian assistance to a “failing nation.” Trump also said the CIA has a presence in Cuba, and Rubio has been involved in discussions with the island’s leadership.But Trump added of applying more economic pressure to Cuba, “There won’t be escalation.I don’t think there needs to be.Trump says he may release his tax returns Trump has long cited ongoing IRS audits as his reason for not releasing his past tax returns.But that could change now that his legal team has forged a deal with the Justice Department this week that includes permanently dropping tax claims against the president, his family and associates.“I may even release my current returns,” the president told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland after a trip to Connecticut.As part of the settlement deal meant to resolve Trump’s $10 billion l awsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns, the U.S.is “forever barred and precluded” from examining or prosecuting Trump, his sons and the Trump organization’s current tax examinations, according to a one-page document posted to the Justice Department’s website on Tuesday.The settlement also includes the creation of a $1.776 billion fund to compensate Trump allies who believe they have been unjustly investigated and prosecuted.Blanche says he expects Castro to appear in US on charges Asked to what lengths the U.S.would go to bring Castro to face charges in this country, Blanche said the federal government indicts people outside the United States “all the time” and uses a variety of methods to bring them to justice.“There was a warrant issued for his arrest,” Blanche said of Raúl Castro.“So we expect that he will show up here, by his own will or by another way.” Blanche went on to say investigations like this one are “never over” when asked whether additional charges would be brought.Castro should take the indictment as a real threat, observers said That’s because former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was indicted on drug-related charges before he and his wife, Cilia Flores, were seized by U.S.special forces in the Venezuelan capital in January “He’s gonna have to keep his head pretty low from now on,” said Peter Kornbluh, a senior analyst and specialist on the U.S.-Cuba relationship at the National Security Archive.“They’re going to have no choice but to take this threat extremely seriously.” Top Communist Party leader praises Raúl Castro, says Cubans will defend his legacy ‘at any cost’ Roberto Morales Ojeda, a senior Communist Party leader, praised Army Gen.Raúl Castro on Wednesday, saying he “embodies the most genuine essence of the Cuban Revolution thanks to his ability to lead with modesty and personal example.His career has been an uninterrupted lesson in loyalty to Cuba and Fidel.” He also said Raúl Castro has cultivated “an exceptional human sensitivity” and the ability to examine the “revolutionary endeavor,” rectify errors and open spaces for dialogue.“For all these reasons, the Cuban people are absolutely certain that they will defend Raúl’s physical and ethical integrity and his legacy at any cost,” Morales Ojeda wrote on X.“Defending his legacy means embracing the continuity of the Revolution, updating the economic model without losing its socialist essence, training new generations, and the fundamental lesson: that one can be a revolutionary with firmness, constructive criticism, and unwavering loyalty to the people.” In Miami, one Cuban American expresses approval of Castro’s indictment Peter Hernandez, whose family owns Los Pinareños Fruteria in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, said it’s about time for the U.S.to do something about Castro.“The piracy in that country, Cuba, it has been going on for a very long time,” Hernandez said.Hernandez, whose parents moved from Cuba to South Florida before he was born, said he doesn’t have a problem with the U.S.sending its military to arrest Castro.“He’s a criminal,” Hernandez said.”I think we should do that with all criminals, especially if they’re hiding behind a country that consistently has been proven that they are on the wrong side of our national security efforts and ideology.” Cuban president condemns Castro indictment Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned the indictment of Raúl Castro and accused the U.S.of lying and manipulating the events of 1996.He called it “a political action without any legal basis” that only seeks to “bolster the case they are fabricating to justify the folly of a military aggression against Cuba.” Díaz-Canel wrote on X that Cuba acted in “legitimate self-defense within its territorial waters after repeated and dangerous violations of its airspace by notorious terrorists.” He said U.S.officials at the time had been warned about the violations but allowed them to continue.Trump has been threatening military action in Cuba ever since U.S.forces captured the Cuban government’s longtime patron, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.After ousting Maduro, the White House ordered a blockade that choked off fuel shipments to Cuba, leading to severe blackouts, food shortages and an economic collapse across the island.The US has also accused Cuban military pilots of downing the planes Lt.Lorenzo Alberto Pérez-Pérez of Las Tunas is among the Cuban military pilots accused of downing the civilian planes in 1996.The others include José Fidel Gual Barzaga and Lt.Luis Raúl González-Pardo Rodríguez, whom the U.S.indicted in November 2025 on charges including fraud and misuse of visa and permits.At the time, former U.S.Attorney General Pamela Bondi said: “This man’s past as a longtime military pilot for the evil Castro regime — which has wrought untold suffering on the Cuban people — should have been front and center in his immigration file.” González-Pardo Rodríguez was accused in part o